5.  The applicant was born in 1977 and is serving a prison sentence in the Vladimir Region.
6.  On 11 April 2003 the police arrested the applicant in his house in the presence of his family. According to the applicant, in the course of the arrest, the police officers severely beat him up and burnt his body with cigarette butts and matches.
7.  The applicant was taken to the Staropromyslovskiy police station by car. When questioned by the deputy prosecutor, the applicant admitted having been present during the murder of two law-enforcement officers, having been involved in a car-jacking and having been in possession of firearms. It appears that on the same day the Staropromyslovskiy District Court of Grozny authorised the applicant’s placement in custody.
8.  On an unspecified date the applicant was charged with several counts of murder, membership of an armed criminal gang, unlawful possession of firearms, theft and car-jacking.
9.  When questioned in the presence of lawyer Ts. on 12 April 2003, the applicant reiterated his statement of 11 April 2003. According to the record of the questioning, he confirmed that he had made his statement voluntarily.
10.  On 14 April 2003 the applicant was blindfolded and taken to a temporary detention centre of the ORB-2 (Operative investigation bureau). During the night he was taken to an office on the fourth floor. According to the applicant, police officers made him kneel and attached telephone cable to his fingers, subjecting him to electrocution. They also hit him with a rubber truncheon.
11.  On the same date the applicant was questioned and confessed to killing A. and to his involvement in the killing of the Kham. brothers. Lawyer Ts. was present during the questioning. The applicant reiterated his confessions when questioned again, in the presence of the same lawyer, on 21 April 2003.
12.  The applicant remained at the ORB-2 temporary detention centre for two months. He was repeatedly ill-treated by the same police officers. On an unspecified date the applicant signed a written confession.
13.  The applicant’s mother, who visited him at the beginning of June 2003, submitted a written statement that she had seen a purulent wound on the back of the applicant’s head.
14.  On 20 June 2003 the applicant was transferred to remand prison no. IZ-20/1 in Grozny. He was examined by a doctor who noted that the applicant had marks on the back of his head caused by beatings and three cigarette burns on his body. It also transpired from a report signed on 20 June 2003 by two officials of the remand prison and an employee of ORB-2 that the applicant had been handed over to the remand prison “with the following injuries from ill-treatment: (1) cigarette burns (many); (2) [injuries] on the back of the head.”
15.  The applicant’s mother visited him again on 21 or 22 June 2003. In her written statement to the Court she testified that his entire body had been dark blue, and he had had numerous burn marks and a wound on the head.
16.  On 11 October 2003 the applicant was transferred back to the Staropromyslovskiy temporary detention centre. On the same day he was brought before a judge. He retracted his confession, complained about ill‑treatment and asked for another counsel.
17.  According to the applicant, at 10 p.m. on 12 October 2003 he had been taken from his cell to the questioning room at the temporary detention centre. The police officers had handcuffed him, put a plastic bag on his head and started to beat him and torture him with electricity. They had told him that he should not have retracted his confession and that in the future he should always confirm his self-incriminating statements and show remorse. After the applicant had been returned to his cell he unsuccessfully attempted to take his life by slashing his wrists.
18.  On 23 October 2003 the applicant was examined by the doctor of the remand prison, who noted that he had many abrasions on his left forearm.
19.  On 10 January 2004, when questioned in the presence of lawyer B., the applicant chose to remain silent.
20.  During the trial the applicant was represented by two lawyers. He retracted his confession and claimed that he had confessed under torture. He complained to the trial judge that his arrest and detention at ORB-2 had been unlawful, that he had been repeatedly ill-treated and threatened, and had finally been forced to confess. He pleaded not guilty.
21.  On 5 October 2004 the Supreme Court of the Republic of Chechnya convicted the applicant as charged and sentenced him to twenty-four years’ imprisonment. It based its decision on the applicant’s confession, confessions of his co-defendants, witness statements to the investigator and the court, and ballistic expert reports concluding that the victims had been shot with the weapons found in the applicant’s house.
22.  In reply to the applicant’s allegations of ill-treatment and forced confession, the court referred to the prosecutor’s decision of 11 May 2004 (see paragraph 27 below). It reviewed the prosecutor’s findings and found that they had been correct. In particular, the court agreed with the prosecutor that the medical examination had not confirmed the ill-treatment and that the witness statements had been unconvincing. The witnesses had not seen the beatings themselves and had been unable to name the police officers who had allegedly ill-treated the applicant. Moreover, despite the applicant’s claim to the contrary, at least one of the witnesses, Vlad., had known the applicant prior to his arrest. The court also referred to the medical certificate of 22 April 2003 from which it transpired that the applicant had no injuries. Lastly, it pointed out that the applicant had been assisted by counsel during the entire investigation. The court concluded that the prosecutor’s decision of 11 May 2004 had been lawful, well-reasoned and justified.
23.  The applicant appealed. He submitted, in particular, that he had given his confession under duress. He had been unlawfully held at ORB-2, where he had been ill-treated and forced to confess. The prosecutor’s inquiry into his allegations of ill-treatment had been inadequate and ineffective.
24.  On 8 June 2005 the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation upheld the conviction on appeal and reduced the sentence to twenty-three years and ten months’ imprisonment. With respect to the allegations of ill-treatment, the court noted that there was no evidence that the applicant’s confession had been given under duress.
25.  In the course of the trial the applicant’s counsel complained to the court that the applicant had been subjected to ill-treatment during the arrest and whilst in police custody. The court ordered the prosecutor to carry out an inquiry into the applicant’s allegations.
26.  The prosecutor’s office of the Staropromyslovskiy District of Grozny conducted an inquiry. The prosecutor questioned the applicant, his co-defendants and co-detainees, and the alleged perpetrators.
27.  On 11 May 2004 the prosecutor’s office dismissed the applicant’s allegations of ill-treatment as unsubstantiated. The investigator and the prosecutor’s office summarised the findings of the conducted inquiries as follows:
“When questioned, [the applicant] stated that on 11 April 2003 he was arrested ... In the course of the arrest, he was beaten up. [The police officers] burnt him with cigarettes and matches. Then he was taken to [the police station]. Several days later, with a knitted hat pulled over his face, he was taken to [ORB-2] and placed in cell no. 4. On the same night [the police officers] took him to an office on the fourth floor. He was made to kneel. They attached two telephone cables to his fingers and tortured him with electricity. They also beat him with a rubber truncheon. The torture continued every day and night with brief intervals. He had a scar on the back of his head ... On 13-14 October 2004 he was beaten up at [the temporary detention centre] because he had retracted his earlier testimony. He was beaten up by [police officers Bis., Has., Zhab. and Alis.]. The fact that he had been beaten up could be confirmed by Sul. and Khad.
When questioned, [co-defendant] Ch. submitted ... that he had no knowledge as to whether [the applicant] had been subjected to any ill-treatment. When he saw [the applicant] at [ORB-2], he had no visible traces of beatings. He looked quite normal. [The applicant] complained to him through the wall separating their cells that he had been beaten up.
...
When questioned, Vlad. submitted that around the beginning of May 2003 he had been arrested by [the police] and placed in cell no. 4 at [ORB-2]. [The applicant] had been brought into the cell at night. He had had bruises on his face. [Vlad.] further submitted that ... [the applicant] had been taken for questioning during the night. He had not seen [the police officers] who had taken and then brought back [the applicant]. ... He had seen [the applicant] ... for the last time in the remand prison in Grozny. He had looked well. As regards the use of force against [the applicant] in the course of the preliminary investigation, he had been told about it by [the applicant] himself.
When questioned, Sul. submitted that he had been arrested [by police] in mid‑March 2003 and had been detained in the temporary detention centre. In mid‑April 2003 [the applicant] had been placed in the same cell. [The applicant] had been severely beaten. [Sul.] had seen a wound on [the applicant’s] head and red spots on his chest. ... he further submitted that he had not witnessed how [the applicant] had been beaten; he had seen [the applicant] only afterwards.
...
When questioned, Khad. submitted that he had been detained in [ORB-2]. In mid‑April 2003 he had heard the police officers mention the [applicant’s] name. At that time, the vent in the door to his cell had been open. He had seen through the vent that [the applicant] had been undressed by the guards ... He had seen dark blue bruises on the [applicant’s] back.
... T., deputy head of the [temporary detention centre] in Grozny, submitted that on 11 October 2003, upon arrival at the temporary detention centre, [the applicant] had been examined by a doctor. [The applicant] had not complained about his condition. During the time of [the applicant’s] detention in the temporary detention centre, he had never been questioned during the night. Any work with the suspects after 10 p.m. was prohibited ... Whilst in detention in the temporary detention centre, the applicant had slashed his wrists and received medical assistance.
When questioned, ... Bis. submitted that on 11 April 2003 during the [applicant’s] arrest ..., his unit had cordoned off the perimeter to prevent the [applicant’s] escape. The [applicant’s] arrest had been carried out by the [criminal investigation unit of the police]. When [the applicant] had been arrested, they had removed the cordon. ... He had entered the house and had seen [the applicant] standing by the wall in the hallway with his arms up. [The applicant] had recognised him because they knew each other. ... He had not seen [the applicant] since. He had not used any force against the applicant.
... Khas. submitted that in April 2003 [the law-enforcement agencies] had carried out the arrest of [the applicant], who had been the leader of an organised criminal group. He had not taken part in the [applicant’s] arrest. He did not know who had arrested him. He had not put any physical pressure on [the applicant]. It was impossible for him to have done so because he had not been involved in the [applicant’s] arrest. ...
When questioned, [police officers] Zhab. and Alis. submitted that in the course of the arrest, [the applicant] had tried to resist and abscond. As a result, force had been used against him. They did not know who exactly had used force against [the applicant]. No physical or psychological pressure had been put on [the applicant] during the preliminary investigation and [the applicant’s] detention. [The applicant] had testified voluntarily. The information given by the [applicant] had led to new evidence being obtained in respect of other participants in the criminal gang ... .
...
When questioned, Sh., the head of the on-call unit of ORB-2, submitted that no psychological or physical force had been used against the detainees in ORB-2. He further explained that the cells ... were equipped with metal doors with vents ... Those vents were kept closed. They were always closed when an arrestee was brought to the premises. This was done to prevent the detainees from seeing each other and communicating. The radio was on all the time. The sound was at full volume in order to be heard in the cells. It was impossible for the detainees to hear any conversation held in the corridor.
...
When questioned, police officer Ul. ... submitted that he and other police officers had arrested [the applicant]. They had had information implicating [the applicant] in the murder of the Kham. brothers and that he had been armed. At the time of the arrest, [the applicant] had been at home eating on the floor. When the applicant had seen the police officers, he had run to the bed trying to get a gun hidden under the pillow. In order to neutralise and arrest [the applicant], he had had to use force and combat techniques. When they had taken [the applicant] out of the house, they had pulled his T-shirt over his head in order to prevent him from fleeing. He had noticed small scars on the [applicant’s] chest and belly. After the arrest, no force had been used against [the applicant]. [The applicant] had asked to be released and had promised to help the police. He had wanted to give information about all the members of the gang whom he knew personally.
...
According to the medical register of the temporary detention centre ... , [the applicant] had complained only about his dry cough ...
...
According to forensic report no. 399 of 5 May 2004 it had been impossible to determine the origin of the scars on the [applicant’s] body because the wounds were infected. There was no forensic data substantiating the allegation that the injuries ... had been caused by electrocution. The deep scar on the front of the right forearm could have resulted from the removal of a lipoma. Multiple ... scars on the front of the left forearm had resulted from injuries caused by stabbing. The position of the scars did not exclude the possibility that they had been self-inflicted.
...
Vlad., Khad. and Sul. were suspects in the criminal investigation. Their statements that they had seen [the applicant] being ill-treated had been refuted by the evidence collected in the course of the present inquiry.
According to the certificate issued by ORB-2, Sul. had been detained there from 25 July to 5 August 2003 and could not have met [the applicant], who had been detained at ORB-2 from 16 April to 20 June 2003. ...
Khad. could not have heard the [applicant’s] name pronounced by someone in the corridor because the radio was constantly on. Nor could he have seen [the applicant] from his cell, because the vents in the cell doors were always kept closed when a new arrestee was brought to the premises.
As regards the statement made by Vlad., it was [the applicant] himself who had told him about the alleged ill-treatment.
The statements made by Vlad., Khad. and Sul. should be interpreted as their attempt to falsely accuse the police officers in order to help [the applicant] ... to evade criminal liability.
Having regard to the above, it was established in the course of the inquiry that force had been used against [the applicant] only in the course of his arrest because he had tried to resist and flee. The actions of the police had been lawful. .... The force used against [the applicant] had not been excessive.
The [applicant’s] allegations ... have not been substantiated by any evidence.
The [applicant’s] allegations ... should be viewed as a line of defence aimed at misleading the courts and evading criminal responsibility.”
28.  On 16 July 2004 the applicant challenged the decision of 11 May 2004 before the Staropromyslovskiy District Court of Grozny. According to the Government, the appeal had been lodged by the two lawyers representing the applicant. On 20 July 2004 the statement of appeal was returned to the lawyers because lawyer D. had failed to sign it. According to the applicant, neither he nor his counsel had been informed accordingly; nor had they received the returned statement of appeal.
29.  According to the applicant, on 7 February 2010 his mother had been summoned to the prosecutor’s office in Grozny. An official at the office had allegedly made threats to her in connection with the applicant’s complaints to the Court. He allegedly said that the applicant had lodged too many complaints with the Court and that that might cause him problems.
30.  On 8 February 2010 the house in which the applicant’s family were temporarily living was set on fire.
31.  The official investigation concluded that the fire had resulted from a malfunctioning gas heating system. The possibility of arson was ruled out.
32.  On 17 February 2010 the prosecutor’s office refused to open a criminal investigation into the matter. On 12 April 2010 that decision was quashed and the proceedings resumed in connection with the allegations made by the applicant’s mother that she had been threatened by an official working at the prosecutor’s office. The parties did not inform the Court of the outcome of the proceedings, nor did they provide copies of the relevant decisions.